Proline and ABA levels in tolerant and sensitive wheat cultivars subjected to water stress

This work investigated the effects of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) and proline contents related to yield in two wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.), Marvdasht and Zagros (sensitive and tolerant to terminal season drought, respectively) grown in pots under well watered and waterstressed starting from anthesis until maturity. Results showed that, water stress resulted in marked increase in the ABA content of both cultivars. However, the absolute of ABA concentration in tolerant cultivar was more than sensitive cultivars. Water stress caused to elevate the leaf proline content of the drought-tolerant that, seemingly led to alleviate the deleterious effect of water stress whereas, a slightly increment in proline levels observed at the end of grain development in drought sensitive cv. The protective effect of both ABA and proline was more pronounced in Zagros cv. that exhibited higher grain yield under water deficit stress conditions.